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| Final Update: |
| May 20th, 2004 |
| This is the last update for dka.shorturl.com gaming section. If you want more game info, release dates, and new in-depth reviews covering every aspect of the best upcoming games, check out www.d-k-a.net/gaming. -Peace |
| All game companies, publishers, developers, logos, or characters are under their own Copyright laws and are property of their respected owners. Copyright 2003-2004 DKA All Rights Reserved. |
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| Reviews: 4th Quarter 2003 |
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| 9 out of 10 The best of the Legacy of Kain series. This had all elements of Soul Reaver 2, but a little less talking, and much better action. You also don't need a strategy guide for this one, the puzzles are much easier to figure out. If you are a fan, buy this for the "making of the series" once you beat it, otherwise, rent first. |
| 9.5 out of 10 This game is so much fun! It reminded me of early Megaman game memories. After you get all the abilities, you can perform combos and juggles in the air with ease. If you are skilled at it, you can pretty much go through an entire level without being hit once. Rent first, if you can't beat it within a week, consider buying it. |
| Gaming Links: |
| 9 out of 10 Prince of Persia is an action platformer that had a lot of hype. It has 8 hours of gameplay roughly, an is hard to stop playing. The absolute best part of this game is the ability to reverse time, letting you fix a mistake you might make doing a oh let's say, jump over a pit of spikes. That ability sold me right there. The graphics are pretty good, but not too impressive. Rent only, if it doesn't get boring to you, buy it. |
| 9.5 out of 10 This is the best racing game I have ever played. It is well worth buying, let alone renting. It has some of the best graphics, even on PS2. With online play as well, this is a dream game for anyone into street racing. It has only one flaw in my opinion, you race through the same city but with different paths each race. Rent if you are kinda into racing, Buy if you are a car junkie. |
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| Game of November! |
| Game of October! |
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| Game of December! |
| 9.5 out of 10 This was absolutely a perfect sequel. They only thing that prevented it from perfection was that it was too short, like the previous, and the textures were too blurry caused from the conversion from PC to PS2. Bullet-Time is redefined with a certain colorized tone and also regenerates and makes you move faster this time around. This has very high replay value, mainly because of it's use of Havok rag-doll physics. Rent then Buy! |
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| Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Category: 3rd Person Shooter Developer: Remedy |
| Need for Speed: Underground Category: Racing Developer: EA Games |
| Legacy of Kain: Defiance Category: 3rd Person Hack 'N Slash / Adventure Developer: Eidos |
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Category: 3rd Person Platformer / Adventure Developer: Ubisoft |
| Viewtiful Joe Category: Side-Scroller / Beat 'M Up Developer: Capcom |
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| Playstation 2 |
| Playstation 2 |
| Playstation 2 |
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| Reviews: 1st Quarter 2004 |
| 7.5 out of 10 It's difficult to rate this one. On one hand, it is very pretty to look at as far as cutscenes go, but on the other hand, the in-game graphics are too jagged, repetitious enemies become boring to slash through, and it is overall the same game as Shinobi, but with a girl in place of him and a few new extras. I didn't enjoy it as much as Shinobi, I think because Shinobi added some new things to the genre, but now it's old news. You should rent this one. |
| Nightshade Category: 3rd Person Hack N' Slash Developer: Sega |
| Playstation 2 |
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| 7 out of 10 Rise to Honor plays just like a lost Jet Li movie, with even better stunts! However, the developers made a HUGE mistake with this one: controls and gameplay. This game would have been so much better if they chose to use the 4 main buttons: X, Triangle, etc., instead of the right analog stick. The insane kung-fu storms you can execute to countless amounts of enemies are so much fun though. The shooting part of it was the worst with the control issue. Overall, it is a good rental, but don't buy it unless you love Jet Li. |
| Jet Li: Rise to Honor Category: 3rd Person Brawler Developer: Sony |
| Playstation 2 |
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| 7.5 out of 10 This was a decent game. It is like Grand Theft Auto in the 1930's. It has remarkable cutscenes and plays literally like a movie would be shown. The controls are perfect, however the gameplay lacks. The driving is realistic, and you move through the city fast. The 3rd Person gameplay just pissed me off because I couldn't see. I just didn't like it that much and I knew the gameplay would just become a frustration, so I stopped playing after a few levels and took it along with Rise to Honor back to blockbuster where they belong. Rent this if you are in a gangsta mood. |
| Mafia Category: 3rd Person Shooter Developer: Illusion Softworks |
| Playstation 2 |
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| 8.5 out of 10 Finally, after a barrage of worthless games, comes something what a 3rd person action game should be. EA has made some unforgetable stunts or "Bond Moments", my favorite in perticular was when you jump off a cliff and manuever Bond left to right, avoiding purtruding ledges, while shooting enemies and finally, saving Shannon Elizabeth! Just like Rise to Honor, this is basically a 007 movie that was made a game instead of a movie. Overall, this was a typical expectance of EA's talents. If you love 007, Buy, if not, Rent. |
| 007: Everything or Nothing Category: 3rd Person Shooter Developer: EA Games |
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| Game of February! |
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| 10 out of 10 The first 10 out of 10 I've given! In case you haven't played MGS on the Playstation One, you missed out on a very good game. This remake has not only all the advanced graphics and features from MGS 2, but even a few more things I didn't expect. The cutscenes are all redone and add some new moves to this whole "bullet-time action" that is appearing in every game and movie now. The voice acting is also updated and much better. This game adds some of the most creative and innovative ideas that have yet to be beaten. Buy if you are collecting the saga, otherwise, you can beat it in a Rental. |
| Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes Category: 3rd Person Espionage Developer: Konami/Silicon Knights |
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| Game of March! |
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| 7.5 out of 10 I thought this would have been a little better than suspected, but it wasn't. I knew that since Capcom kind of squeezed in this game to get gamers ready for Onimusha 3, it wouldn't be that impressive. It gets credit for copying Super Smash Bros. and adding all the original gameplay elements from Onimusha into the special fighting genre, but it still doesn't even come close to Super Smash Bros. fun scale. Horrible voice acting, a repeated story line, and some control issues makes this a kinda blan game. Hold off renting this one, unless you're having a sleepover w/ friends. |
| Onimusha Blade Warriors Category: 4-Player Fighting Developer: Capcom |
| Playstation 2 |
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| 8.5 out of 10 I didn't think I would rent this again, but I was bored and heard good things. Upgraded graphics and ragdoll physics seem to make every shooting game 100x more fun now. As you play through some flashbacks of Agent 47, you start to get more and more information of what happened to him. The game excells in its updated look, sound, and gameplay. The replay value is high because there is always more than one way to get the job done. Overall, I think Eidos is getting on the right track with their games... finally. Rent only if you haven't played the 1st or 2nd prequels, Buy if you liked the previous two. |
| Hitman: Contracts Category: 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth Developer: Eidos |
| Playstation 2 |
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| 10 out of 10 Ahh, my 2nd 10 out of 10 game. It was worth the wait to play this one. If you've played the others, you'll find that the main gameplay is the same as before and there are hardly any bug issues. It can lag sometimes when you use your magic attacks, but only when there are lots of genma. The second you see the intro movie, you should have a feeling of how awesome the entire game and the suspenseful ending. It also has special features and unlockables, which keeps replay value high. Buy the first 2 if you haven't played the series before, then Buy this one and enjoy! |
| Onimusha 3: Demon Siege Category: Hack N' Slash/Survival Horror Developer: Capcom |
| Playstation 2 |
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| Game of April! |
| Reviews: 2nd Quarter 2004 |
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| 7 out of 10 Well, the only reason I rented this was because I heard good things from X-Play and other sources. I don't know why but it isn't as good as they said it would be. The first thing wrong is the difficulty, I played on medium and by the 1st level it took me forever to get past a group of 5 medium decepticons because the only weapon effective against them was these homing missles which took too long to recharge. Either I just sucked at this game or it was decent, the graphics were very good, music was ehhh, and overall it was the best transformers game anyone's ever made. Rent before you Buy. |
| Transformers Category: 3rd Person Shooter Developer: Melborne House |
| Playstation 2 |
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| 9 out of 10 At first, I was hesitant to rent this, mainly because I never heard much about how good it was going to be. I don't like westerns either, but I figured if Rockstar is making it, it's gonna be cool. It is has Rockstar's style in the game and parts of the same engine used in the GTA series. The graphics are kinda weak on the models, but the environment has this soft blur to it only Super Mario Sunshine had, which makes everything look smooth. The gunfights were pretty fun, but towards the end it got boring. The story and the whole western feel is a breath of fresh air to gaming. Rent, then possibly Buy for the extras. |
| Red Dead Revolver Category: 3rd Person Shooter Developer: Rockstar Games |
| Playstation 2 |
| Game of May! |
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